Action to be taken at shopping area after deal is struck

A sorry saga which has rumbled on at an untidy shopping area could finally be at an end, after an agreement has been struck to spruce up the site.

Hadston Precinct has been the focus of criticism over recent months, with residents, councillors and businesses criticising its appearance.

Complainants claimed that the site’s owner, Thrower Stone, was neglecting its duties, with grass not being cut and bins not emptied.

Earlier this month, East Chevington Parish Council chairman Penelope Fidkin said that businesses should stop paying rent until action was taken, while Druridge Bay ward member Coun Scott Dickinson told the Gazette that Northumberland County Council was pursuing the company to seek answers and a way forward.

But now, it appears progress has been made. The county council has agreed a service cost with Thrower Stone for the authority’s local services’ department to carry out cleansing, grounds maintenance and gully operations within the boundary of Hadston Precinct.

An email confirming the news, which was sent from the county council and circulated to members of East Chevington Parish Council reads: “This will ensure the standards within the precinct are ratcheted up to the high standard Bill Pringle and his team have accomplished in the county-council-maintained areas of Hadston and Red Row.”

Coun Dickinson said: “It has been a long process but we have got there. I welcome Thrower Stone’s commitment to move forward and it will help to get it up to a decent standard.

“The work has already started at the site, including sorting out the grass, litter-picking and emptying bins.”